Hong Kong’s annual flower show is set to attract about 650,000 visitors over 10 days, and will feature new additions such as busking street performances and floral art demonstrations, despite a 7 per cent cut to its budget.

The show, which will run from this Friday until March 23 in Victoria Park at Causeway Bay, has been scaled down due its budget declining from HK$54 million (US$6.9 million) last year to HK$50 million.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said on Thursday that the theme flower this year would be the cosmos, a daisy-like bloom with variants in different colours that symbolised resilience and strength.

“We hope the weather will favour us so people are willing to go out and enjoy our exhibition,” said Tina Tai Yuen-kwan, who chaired the department’s committee in charge of this year’s show.

She said that the expected number of attendees would be similar to last year, with 5 to 10 per cent of them being tourists.

Ahead of the show, authorities stepped up promotion with invitations sent to influencers on Chinese social media platform RedNote in an attempt to attract more tourists from mainland China.

“This year, we have added busking performances and floral art demonstrations to the activities’ line-up, a variety of educational and recreational activities that are family-friendly, ensuring that everyone can enjoy them,” said Annie Fung Ka-wai, the department’s acting assistant director of leisure services.